


i… how can i say this?

by junfhongs



Series: simple is sexy, baby (whoa). [1]
Category: NCT (Band), NU'EST
Genre: Cat/Human Hybrids, Fluff, M/M, catboy!taeyong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-18
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2019-04-24 14:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14357238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junfhongs/pseuds/junfhongs
Summary: hybrid!AU. it could have been a match made in heaven, but Jonghyun was a disastergaywaiting to happen.





	i… how can i say this?

It was easy for Jonghyun to enter the set for their photoshoot, fully comfortable with the knowledge that he was with Seungcheol and Jisung would be there to welcome him. The ONF leader, Hyojin, was early too, and Jisung had already managed to get to him while they got their hair done. "Hey, it's you!" Jisung pulled Jonghyun down onto his lap, hugging him by the waist and irritating their stylist for the third time that morning.

"I'm glad to see you too?" Jonghyun pried Jisung's arm off him and tried to apologize to Hyojin and the rest of the crew for startling them. Still, Jonghyun was more than overjoyed to be working with Jisung again and just to hear his voice. "How is everyone?"

"Oh, you know," Jisung shrugged, "exhausted." Jonghyun gave a knowing look, but Jisung just laughed it off. "Hyojin and I were just comparing notes, actually."

"Despite the stereotypes, hybrids aren't actually messier than the pureblood members." Hyojin shuddered. "I seriously can't imagine what your dorm looks like, Jisung."

"Don't worry about them; Minhyun is the most annoyingly neat hybrid I know of," Jonghyun said, and he waved at Seungcheol as he looked around for Jonghyun. "Hey, what's it like living with 12 people?"

They all laughed at the distress on Seungcheol's face. "Mingyu is the greatest blessing to have happened to us sometimes. But hey," Seungcheol nodded at someone from far away, "I'm sure he has it worse."

Seungcheol was referring to the last person they were waiting for in this photoshoot, a sleepy boy who was bowing at everyone as he made his way to the makeup artists. "Hi," Taeyong said— taking off his cap to reveal… _very fluffy ears,_ Jonghyun noted. "Um, sorry I'm late."

"No big deal," said Hyojin.

"You're not late at all," Seungcheol added, and clapping him on the shoulder. "Nice seeing you."

_"Yeah."_

The four of them turned their heads to stare at Jonghyun, who just decided to _randomly blurt that out_ as he tore his eyes away from Taeyong's face. Jonghyun could feel himself blushing, feel the warmth crawling up his neck and being unable to hide it. Damn, he should have gotten his makeup on earlier so his foundation could cover up how red his face was starting to get. Jonghyun was glad that he looked up and only saw Taeyong's smiling face as his manager whispered something in his ear.

"They said you can start on the solo shoots while we're getting fixed up. I'll—" Taeyong awkwardly motioned towards his station in the set. "go now. See you."

Jonghyun sat like a statue in front of the mirror, ignoring the fluff he could see at the corner of his mirror. Uh, what the hell happened to Kim Jonghyun and why was he replaced by a little _teenage boy_ with a _crush?_ It wasn't like he wasn't exposed to hybrids on a daily basis; he lived with two for the most part and lent one of them to Jisung for a year and a half. Taeyong wasn't anything special!

Except… Jonghyun caught a glimpse of his eyes through the mirror and found himself lost in how huge and beautiful they were, almost like a manga character come to life. He was amazed at how Taeyong's hair and ears were still nice and fluffy despite all the bleach and hair dye, and Jonghyun was hit with the overwhelming urge to stand up, walk towards Taeyong's chair, and… _touch._

Jonghyun groaned and bent forward to bang his forehead against the table. The stylist stared at him in concern before sighing and going back to his hair.

"Hey," Jisung hissed as he pulled up a chair to sit between Seungcheol and Jonghyun, "do you notice anything strange?"

Jonghyun's brows furrowed. "Uh, you?"

"Haha, funny," Jisung deadpanned. "Look. We're all sitting here, and then there's Taeyong over there…" Jonghyun looked around using the mirror and saw that Jisung was right; Taeyong was just sitting alone in one corner of the set playing with his phone. He finished his makeup early because— honestly, _look at the boy._ Did he even need it?

"Go and talk to him then, mister congeniality," Jonghyun mumbled.

"Yeah, but you're closer in age!" Jisung reasoned out. "And you debuted at around the same time, right, Seungcheol?" Jonghyun didn't like how Jisung and Seungcheol were making signals with their eyes right now; in Jonghyun's paranoid mind, it clearly spelled out, 'bad idea that involves throwing Jonghyun under the bus'.

Seungcheol shrugged. "Yeah, but he's like… really shy. I vote," Seungcheol drawled, "we sic Jonghyun on him and watch how things play out. I think they'd get along." Jonghyun's eyes widened and he glared at Seungcheol, even as the hair stylist forcefully held his head still. He and Seungcheol have been friends for too long; Jonghyun wasn't comfortable with the idea that he might be _suggesting_ something.

"I agree," said Jisung. Seungcheol beamed at his _amazing_ idea.

Jonghyun huffed in frustration. "Well, too bad, I'm—"

"All done," the stylist said. "Get up."

 _Noona!_ Jonghyun wanted to hiss, but it was too late as Jisung was already leading him towards Taeyong who was eyeing them suspiciously. Jisung dumped Jonghyun on the too-small couch and walked away, _conveniently_ being called in for his solo shoot. Damn Jisung and his kindness and friendliness and foolproof techniques of dragging Jonghyun into things. But mostly, _damn Seungcheol and his knowledge of Jonghyun's absolute weaknesses!_

Weaknesses, such as the soft ears that were right in Jonghyun's peripheral vision. Jonghyun sighed deeply. Be nice, right? Be friendly? Make conversation? Oh, he wished he were as sociable as Aron and Minki right now.

"Hey," Jonghyun tried to start. Taeyong looked up from his phone with wide eyes—they were capable of being even _bigger?_ —and smiled softly at Jonghyun. "I… watched your stage on TV the other day. You were great."

"Oh, 'Touch'?" Taeyong's laughter was stilted. "Thanks. I feel… really awkward with the cute concept."

"I think you're a natural at it," Jonghyun blurted out casually, though his wide eyes met Taeyong's as they looked at each other and shared the awkward laughter this time. Jonghyun got a glimpse of Taeyong's phone screen. "Hey, did that webtoon get updated recently?"

Taeyong's small smile was a little startled but still pleasant. "You read this? Usually the only ones who read it—"

"— are the ones who think the story was lifted straight out of this other manga, I know." Jonghyun shook. "I just like the art, and the story is still good, even if it's a little too predictable."

"Is it actually predictable or have you just read the manga version too many times?" Taeyong gave Jonghyun a knowing look and they laughed, a little too loudly even for the busy set. They bit their lips and bowed their heads as the cranky assistants gave them a dirty look. "Sorry about that. I'm surprised you know of that one."

Jonghyun rubbed the back of his neck. "I… may or may not have the entire collection in my bookshelf."

"Wow," Taeyong said in awe. "Can I borrow a volume or two? I promise to give it back if our promotional schedules ever overlap."

"'If'? My collection is my _life!_ " Jonghyun asked incredulously, letting his voice crack for added comedic effect. The absurdity of his words just made Taeyong's laughter even more uncontrollable, and Jonghyun grinned to himself when he caught Taeyong's tail twitching in something akin to joy, as Jonghyun remembered from Minki's hybrid primer.

"Jonghyun," an assistant called out, "get dressed for your solo shoot."

"Ah, right." Jonghyun's laughter died down as he stretched and stood up. "Talk to you later?" Taeyong nodded and went back to his phone, though Jonghyun would like to think that he occasionally looked up to see how Jonghyun was doing.

Later on, Jonghyun walked back to his corner, holding his shirt closed as the director miraculously gave him a _daring_ concept. He felt weird fibers from that rose in his mouth, and he'd have to wash that out later. Jonghyun stumbled across Taeyong, _still on that couch_ apparently. Taeyong felt his presence and looked up, smirking as he immediately understood what the director was going for with Jonghyun's getup. "Hey there, sexy concept."

Jonghyun rolled his eyes. "Don't come at me for this. I've watched your _other stages_ too _,_ Taeyong." Jonghyun snickered as he walked forward and held a hand out right beneath Taeyong's chin, hoping to tease him for that weird little part of their choreo.

He didn't expect Taeyong to look up at him with those big, big eyes and jut his chin out in a pout. Jonghyun moved his fingers experimentally, tickling Taeyong's chin as he watched them do in the videos. Taeyong laughed and scrunched his nose, but his eyes remained shut as Jonghyun brushed lower down his neck and a bit along his chin, making his mouth fall open in a small gasp. Jonghyun was consumed by curiosity now, and Taeyong didn't seem to mind as he made little purring noises while Jonghyun kept his hand there and touched his skin so gently.

Seungcheol cleared his throat as he passed by behind Jonghyun. "What the hell are you doing?" he whispered, a snicker waiting to escape his lips.

Jonghyun jumped back at that exact moment, leaving Taeyong hanging there until he realized that Jonghyun had already stopped. "Um," Taeyong was looking everywhere except for Jonghyun right now, "I'm… still willing to negotiate for some of your mangas, by the way."

"In your dreams." Jonghyun laughed awkwardly as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I'll go— get dressed for the group shot." He slowly walked back. "Bye." Taeyong gave him a little wave before leaning back and sticking his phone onto his face.

Likewise, Jonghyun did the same in his own corner of the set, glancing up occasionally to check if Taeyong was done with his solo shoot. Not… to check on him, really, but just so that he'd know when his turn was again. _Really._

Jisung didn't buy it. "Our little Jonghyun has a crush _._ " Jisung placed his arm over Jonghyun's shoulders. "Too bad Seungcheol isn't here to help me tease you."

Hyojin perked up. "I can sub for him!" They poked fun at Jonghyun's embarrassment until Seungcheol finished and everything got even _worse_ for Jonghyun. He was glad that Taeyong's shoot was so damn quick—apparently he was a natural model; Jonghyun wasn't even surprised anymore—and they were finally ready to do the group shots.

"I think," Hyojin told the director, "Taeyong should be the center."

"And Jonghyun should sit beside him," Jisung whispered as he guided Jonghyun down to the seat beside Taeyong and kept his hands on his shoulder to keep him from standing up.

The director shrugged. "This'll work."

Sitting so closely beside Taeyong was honestly a little too distracting for Jonghyun, but he was glad that Taeyong was comfortable enough to let Jonghyun lean on him like that. Taeyong was a professional though; Jonghyun couldn't tell that he was three years his senior in the industry with how _good_ Taeyong was.

The director was a little unsatisfied though, especially when it came to the less intense pictures. "Hey," Jonghyun said softly to Taeyong as the photographer reviewed the pictures they had taken so far, "smile." Jonghyun didn't know what the hell he was thinking, but he lifted his hand and touched Taeyong's ears, instantly making him melt against Jonghyun's arm and smile at him. Taeyong made a soft sound as Jonghyun pulled his hand away, but that was only for the greater good, especially considering how the other three were already starting to smirk at Jonghyun.

When they resumed the shoot, it went by even smoother than ever. "Much better!" he called out, and Jonghyun returned the grin that Taeyong flashed at him.

They were stuck together for most of the other shots, with Jonghyun casually placing a hand on Taeyong's shoulder or Taeyong gazing at Jonghyun's direction— but there was an explanation for that! Taeyong said it was his best angle; Jonghyun wanted to argue that all his angles were great, but… that might have been a little too telling.

Jonghyun sighed deeply as the makeup artists and stylists all started cleaning up, and Jonghyun faced the fact that this might be the last time he would properly get to see Taeyong. No big deal though. It might be better to give Seungcheol less ammunition against him— ammunition that he was probably going to spread to everyone working in their company. _No thanks!_

"Hi," a soft voice said from behind Jonghyun. It was Taeyong, ears tucked back under his cap and hands folded in front of him. If Jonghyun didn't know any better, he'd think that Taeyong was actually younger than him— _oh right._ Somewhere in between watching Taeyong perform in _that_ outfit on M Countdown to Jonghyun himself being a complete blubbering idiot, he forgot that he and Taeyong were almost the same age, basically had the same position in their groups, were both big ass nerds, and, by all standards, would have been very easy friends to make if they weren't both so damn _shy._

"Do you… game?" Jonghyun blinked at Taeyong's sudden question. "I mean. Overwatch. You know, in your free time maybe?"

"I… actually have a lot of that." Jonghyun's awkward laugh was only emphasized by his hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you want to swap IDs or something?"

It was Taeyong's turn to laugh awkwardly now. "Actually, yeah."

Jonghyun blinked at him. _Now or never, you fucking coward._ "Okay, sure. Can I borrow your phone?"

"Sure? Why?" Taeyong looked at him suspiciously as he handed it over. Jonghyun quickly put in his number and saved his ID as his contact name, hoping that it would prolong the chase a little bit. He closed the app and gave Taeyong back his phone.

"I saved my ID in there… and my number too, if you wanted to know," Jonghyun said, hoping that his voice wasn't shaking too much.

Jonghyun was surprised as Taeyong's ears twitched and his tail started swaying, betraying the way the corners of his lips twitched and wanted to stretch into a bright grin. "Two can play at that game." Taeyong cleared his throat and held his hand out. "They should."

Jonghyun laughed and handed Taeyong his phone, watching as he smiled down at the screen and saved his number there. Their hands brushed briefly as Taeyong gave it back, and they found themselves staring at each other, unsure of when to actually say goodbye.

Seungcheol, as always, was there to help out. "Jonghyun! Van's here!"

"Well," Jonghyun shifted his weight back and forth, "that's my cue."

"It was nice to meet you. Seeing you. _Yeah,_ " Taeyong echoed Jonghyun's earlier fuck up and laughed at how Jonghyun's face fell. Taeyong waved, and Jonghyun took the leap one last time to reach out and touch Taeyong's ears again, amazed at how he easily leaned into Jonghyun's touch.

"Bye," Jonghyun whispered, now walking back and waving at Jisung and Hyojin, who were watching them intently.

"Bye." Taeyong waved cutely at him with both hands, smiling until Jonghyun got into the van and they drove away.

Jonghyun's shoulders sagged as soon as Taeyong was too far away to see. That was, um… an _experience,_ really. How the hell did he get himself into this position, now hugging a car pillow against his chest and smiling peacefully at the window? Though really, he was mostly just looking outside to purposely ignore Seungcheol's shit-eating grin and how he poked at Jonghyun's side, teasing:

_"Jonghyun has a crush!"_

Oh god, they—they being the entire Pledis family of almost 40 people—would _never_ let him live this down. Never.

**Author's Note:**

> DEEP, DEEP SIGH. of course i start this movement with a furry fic ,,, pls dont question me and why im pushing the jonghyun/taeyong agenda so much ok
> 
> pls forgive the bad writing in general ok this is self-indulgent fluff!!! i don't know all the characters too well to portray them accurately and only did some fact checking and i didn't go so deep into the other members and all the nitty gritty details but HEY we have catboy taeyong being petted by jonghyun . i mean What More Can You Ask For
> 
> this is dedicated to ara for starting the catboy taeyong/jonghyun talks and to [this cc prompt](https://curiouscat.me/junfhongs/post/410626305)
> 
> title from Pentagon - Shine (and the title is basically my sentiment for this entire agenda ok uhhh h h how can i say this I LOVE THIS CRACKSHIP AND I WILL PUSH THIS AGENDA)
> 
> come yell at me on [twitter (@amenochieien)](https://twitter.com/amenochieien) or talk to me on [curiouscat (/junfhongs)](https://curiouscat.me/junfhongs)!! (y'all know you want to)


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